The Freshwater flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of The Freshwater
(Clarence Valley, NSW) - 26.47 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 26 September 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
26.47 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to The Freshwater's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over The Freshwater
Two different things, kept apart on purpose. The ANEF contour is the planning instrument - a forecast published per airport that planning schemes use to control noise-sensitive development. Observed overflight is what a sampled aircraft-tracking feed actually recorded over the suburb - where aircraft flew, how low and how often.
Observed overflight - sampled to
Night movements: not established - night is sampled as often as day, but too few night flights have been seen here to conclude either way.
Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.
The Freshwater at a glance
How The Freshwater is zoned
Buying in The Freshwater? The zoning, flood and bushfire lines on the section 10.7 certificate attached to the contract are mapped controls - see our s10.7 certificate guide.
Across its 26.47 km², The Freshwater is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 32% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 97% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 10 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is National Parks and Nature Reserves. The median lot measures about 167,202 m² across 28 parcels.
Who lives in The Freshwater
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the The Freshwater suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Socio-economic standing
ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.
Score 931, and decile 2 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Maclean - Yamba - Iluka, the wider ABS statistical area containing The Freshwater. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than The Freshwater itself.
14,359 in 2001 to 18,562 in 2025, up 29%.
Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.
The Freshwater data sources and coverage
“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.
| Dataset | Coverage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Flood mapping | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Zoning | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
Profile last materially updated 26 September 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.
Check a specific The Freshwater address
See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a The Freshwater lot.
See what's in the $9 report →The Freshwater planning - frequently asked
Is The Freshwater flood-prone?
About 32% of The Freshwater falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 24%.
Is The Freshwater bushfire-prone?
Around 97% of The Freshwater is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Clarence Valley average of 94%.
Is The Freshwater under a flight path?
No aircraft were observed over The Freshwater in the period sampled (recent weeks to now). Sampling is intermittent, so that is a floor rather than proof that none fly over. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.
What is the zoning in The Freshwater?
The dominant planning zone in The Freshwater is National Parks and Nature Reserves, though the suburb also includes Recreational Waterways and Environmental Conservation.
Does The Freshwater have heritage-listed places?
The Freshwater has 10 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in The Freshwater?
Across 28 surveyed parcels in The Freshwater, the median lot size is about 167,202 m².
Is The Freshwater an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), The Freshwater scores 931 and sits in decile 3 of 10 nationally and decile 2 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woody Head | 4.4 km | 0% | 73% |
| Goodwood Island | 4.5 km | 100% | 64% |
| Woombah | 4.7 km | 8% | 99% |
| Freeburn Island | 6.7 km | 99% | 46% |
| Iluka | 7.0 km | 34% | 68% |
| Chatsworth | 9.5 km | 99% | 93% |
| Esk | 9.5 km | 0% | 100% |
| Yamba | 10.4 km | 75% | 29% |
| Palmers Island | 11.1 km | 98% | 80% |
| Harwood | 11.2 km | 99% | 80% |